Rebirth in Hong Kong: From Dessert Shop to Industrial Empire

Chapter 153 I Can Talk Too, I Can Be Patriotic Too! (Seeking monthly votes, recommendations, and continued reading)
With Li Jiacheng's arrival, the China Resources cocktail party officially began.

Zhang Jianhua, General Manager of China Resources, walked to the microphone at the front of the banquet hall and spoke with a smile:
Good evening, distinguished guests and friends!

First of all, on behalf of China Resources Company, I would like to extend my warmest welcome and sincerest gratitude to everyone for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend tonight's reception!

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted in the banquet hall.

Chen Bingwen noticed that Li Jiacheng, standing next to Zhang Jianhua, had a humble smile on his face as he looked at the people attending the banquet.

“We are gathered here tonight for two main purposes,” Zhang Jianhua continued. “First, to warm up for the upcoming Spring Canton Fair.”

We hope that everyone will support the economic development of the mainland and take advantage of the Canton Fair to purchase various goods.

He paused briefly, his gaze sweeping over the entrepreneurs present: "Secondly, and more importantly, I want to introduce to you the newly introduced 'processing trade' policy in mainland China."

This policy allows foreign businesses to cooperate with mainland enterprises in the form of processing with supplied materials, processing with supplied samples, assembly with supplied parts, and compensation trade.

"As a bridge connecting the mainland and Hong Kong Island, China Resources is willing to provide you with comprehensive support."

Whether it's policy consultation, permit processing, factory site selection, or employee recruitment, we can assist with all of these arrangements.

At this moment, Zhang Jianhua specifically looked in Li Jiacheng's direction: "At the same time, I also have an important announcement to make."

China Resources will establish a joint venture with Cheung Kong Holdings to jointly develop the Tin Shui Wai project.

As soon as Zhang Jianhua finished speaking, the real estate developers present were in an uproar.

With the population of Hong Kong Island increasing year by year, the Hong Kong government formulated a plan to develop Tin Shui Wai at the beginning of the year.

The plan is to develop Tin Shui Wai into a satellite city of Hong Kong Island, housing hundreds of thousands of residents.

However, faced with such a large pie, major real estate developers on Hong Kong Island are all hesitant.

Tin Shui Wai is located in the New Territories, and the land leases in the New Territories will expire in 1997, leaving only 18 years until now.

Such a short timeframe poses a significant risk for real estate projects that require substantial investment for large-scale development.

Therefore, after the plan was announced, not many developers were willing to participate in the auction; everyone was waiting and seeing.

Zhang Jianhua's announcement that China Resources will lead Cheung Kong Holdings in jointly developing Tin Shui Wai was undoubtedly a bombshell at the event.

"China Resources is taking the lead in venturing into uncharted territory," a real estate tycoon whispered to his companion. "Who dares to touch land in the New Territories so easily?"

“But if China Resources takes the lead, there might really be a turning point,” his companion pondered. “After all, they represent the attitude of the mainland.”

With them involved in the development, perhaps we could really give it a try!

Standing to the side, Chen Bingwen listened to the real estate developers' words and his mind raced.

In his memory, Tin Shui Wai was always developed by Li Ka-shing, who made a fortune through this project.

Rumors circulate that the development of Tin Shui Wai will increase Li Ka-shing's assets by at least several billion Hong Kong dollars.

So, after Li Guowei told him that China Resources was also involved, Chen Bingwen kept recalling the details of the Tin Shui Wai development.

He clearly remembered that the Tin Shui Wai project in his previous life was Li Ka-shing's masterpiece.

After Cheung Kong Holdings acquired Tin Shui Wai at an extremely low price, it transformed the area into a modern community capable of accommodating hundreds of thousands of people.

But now, China Resources' involvement has complicated the situation.

Chen Bingwen realized that there must be some inside story he didn't know about.

Although China Resources has a state-owned enterprise background, in Hong Kong, money is the top priority.

Just then, Li Jiacheng calmly walked to the microphone and said with a smile, "Friends, there are indeed uncertainties surrounding the Tin Shui Wai project."

But it is precisely because of uncertainty that there are opportunities.

The collaboration between China Resources and Cheung Kong Holdings aims to explore a new path for everyone.

If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact us. We welcome like-minded partners to join us.

These words caused many of the real estate developers present to show thoughtful expressions.

Upon seeing this situation, Chen Bingwen had a flash of inspiration.

Is it possible that the Tin Shui Wai development project was a way for Li Ka-shing to leverage China Resources' background and special status to cleverly mitigate the political risks associated with the New Territories land lease?

At the same time, it builds an invisible moat for itself, blocking the covetous eyes of other real estate developers who are slightly weaker but eager to make a move.

In this way, he can leverage Cheung Kong's experience in real estate development to gain absolute control over the Tin Shui Wai project.

Ultimately, as long as China Resources gets a little bit of leftovers, the entire project can proceed smoothly and generate the majority of the profits.

China Resources, on the other hand, is probably happy to see the project launched, which will drive the development of related industries and employment in the mainland, while also obtaining stable investment returns. Both parties get what they need and achieve a delicate balance.

This thought suddenly enlightened Chen Bingwen, and he was almost certain that this was Li Jiacheng's true intention.

China Resources' "leading" is more like a strategic "platform endorsement" and "credit guarantee," while the actual operator and biggest beneficiary is undoubtedly Cheung Kong Holdings. Li Ka-shing cleverly used China Resources' special status to mitigate the biggest political risk, eliminate potential competitors, and clear the way for himself to enjoy this giant pie exclusively.

"What a brilliant move, using the momentum to your advantage, achieving great results with minimal effort!" Chen Bingwen thought to himself.

This is no longer a simple business competition, but has risen to a higher dimension of resource integration, trend judgment, and pattern building.

Having figured this out, Chen Bingwen took a sip of his wine and turned his gaze back to the smiling Li Jiacheng.

Suddenly, I felt that smile was particularly fake.

That seemingly humble and gentle smile, in Chen Bingwen's eyes at this moment, was like a carefully crafted mask, perfectly concealing the intricate calculations beneath.

This is no longer the composure brought about by business acumen, but a condescending approach, using the gentlest expression to carry out the most self-serving plans.

"China Resources taking the lead... What a great China Resources taking the lead!" Chen Bingwen sneered inwardly. "They're just using the country's reputation as a shield to clear obstacles for their own business empire and silence everyone!"

He instantly realized something deeper: Li Jiacheng's move not only mitigated the risks and eliminated competitors, but also hijacked the general trend.

He deeply intertwined the interests of China Resources, and even the will that China Resources represented, with those of his own Cheung Kong Holdings.

Any future questioning of this project will no longer be just a questioning of Cheung Kong Holdings, but to some extent a questioning of China Resources' decision-making.

This is equivalent to providing an incredibly robust insurance policy for the project.

Looking at the impeccable smile on the stage, Chen Bingwen felt a strong sense of physical discomfort.

This tactic, which takes leveraging power, scheming, and binding to the extreme while cloaking itself in the guise of "win-win cooperation" and "exploring new paths," revealed to him the cold and realistic operational logic of capital players.

"Very good." Chen Bingwen's eyes narrowed slightly, his fighting spirit ignited.

If the thieves can go there, so can I!

"If you, Li Ka-shing, can leverage the power of China Resources, why can't I, Chen Bingwen, follow the trend and secure a place for myself in this grand game?"
Do you want to monopolize Tin Shui Wai?
It might not go that smoothly.

His gaze shifted from Li Jiacheng and slowly swept over the real estate developers in the room who were shocked by the news of "China Resources taking the lead," and whose faces showed thoughtfulness or even eagerness.

A thought flashed through my mind like lightning:

"If I could find an opportunity, even just to acquire a piece of land in Tin Shui Wai and integrate the existing factories to build a large-scale beverage production base, it would be enough to bring Chen Kee a return far beyond what we could have imagined."

Once this idea took root, it quickly grew wildly in Chen Bingwen's mind.

Now that they have seen through Li Jiacheng's strategy of "leveraging power," why can't they emulate it or even use it to gain more core benefits for themselves?
"It seems necessary to have a more in-depth discussion with Li Guowei and Mr. Zhang from China Resources later."

He thought to himself, "I can talk too, I can love my country too!"

On the other side, after announcing the news and seeing that their goal had been achieved, neither Zhang Jianhua nor Li Jiacheng said anything more.

The main purpose of the reception was not to develop investment opportunities in Tin Shui Wai, so it was better to leave things unsaid than to say them outright.

After Zhang Jianhua answered some questions from the businessmen about the "processing trade" policy, the reception moved into a free exchange session.

At this moment, Li Guowei walked over and whispered, "Mr. Chen, I just received news that Mr. Wang has an urgent meeting and may be half an hour late."

Look

"It's alright, Manager Li, you go ahead with your work. I'll take this opportunity to make some more friends." Chen Bingwen waved his hand with a smile, indicating that Li Guowei didn't need to worry about it.

He didn't come here simply to see Wang Jianjun; such a gathering of business people was a good opportunity to expand his network and gather information.

Li Guowei smiled apologetically: "Alright, Mr. Chen, please do as you please. Feel free to contact me anytime if you need anything."

After Li Guowei left, Chen Bingwen straightened his suit and searched the crowd with his eyes.

Soon, he found his target.

Mr. Liu, the director of Wantong Trading, was standing by the window talking to a middle-aged man who looked somewhat unfamiliar.

Wantong Trading mainly deals in sugar import and export and futures hedging. Raw sugar is Chenji's most important bulk raw material at present and for some time to come. Establishing a good relationship with a powerful trading company can only be beneficial.

Whether to buy or not, and how much to buy, can be discussed further, but this connection must be established first.

Chen Bingwen put on a polite business smile and walked over slowly, intending to first make an acquaintance and chat about the sugar market situation to set the stage for subsequent procurement negotiations.

However, just as he approached, the middle-aged man's slightly complaining words, which had his back to him, drifted into his ears.

"Wei Li is now focused entirely on Huang, thinking every day about how to sort out that mess and turn a profit as soon as possible."

Why would he bother with a holding company like Watsons, which is insignificant and insignificant?

They're basically just letting it fend for itself!

The words "Watson's" struck Chen Bingwen like a bolt of lightning.

He slowed his pace, his smile unchanged, but all his attention was now focused on the conversation between the two men.

(End of this chapter)